At first I would like to thank Cooler Master for sending a sample of their CM Storm Sentinel Advance II Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.

 

 

About CM Storm:

"Owning the PC trenches for almost two decades, Cooler Master ’s veterans present their scars from battles past as claims of triumph over the competition. United with a new generation of eSports athletes and engineers, now marching under the flag of CM Storm, the time has come to reveal truly ground-breaking, military grade hardware for the gaming revolution.

 

Through long-standing research programs, CM Storm is co-developed with the world’s most prolific enthusiasts and eSports prodigies. Thanks to intensive testing and continuous feedback, the CM Storm division has been able to encompass and improve upon gamers’ needs and their tough to handle scenarios.

 

By working directly with the gaming community we have injected our Storm Tactics into each and every product we make. Storm Tactics, with a heavily dedicated focus on Strength, Security and Control, will keep your most vital gear fortified and well tuned at all times.

 

2008 marks a new era for Cooler Master, as its fierce Storm Gear stands ready at bay to mobilize and back up your gaming skills.

 

CM Storm – Arming the Gaming Revolution"

 

Product Features:

 

200 - 8200 DPI tracking resolution

128 KB Sentinel-X TM Memory for profiles and macros

On the fly DPI adjustments (+/- 200 DPI)

As little as 1.5 mm lift-off distance

Up to 150 IPS – 3.8 m/s

125 Hz – 1000 Hz USB rate fine-tuning

5 profiles with 4 DPI setting each

8 programmable buttons

9 virtual buttons via button combinations

Right-hand Ergonomic Design

Customizable OLED logo

Customizable multi color LED light system

5 x 4.5g weight fine-tuning system

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

The Sentinel Advance II Gaming Mouse from Cooler Master comes packed in a themed cardboard box, which informs us that the product is equipped with a new sensor model, the Avago 9800 which supports DPI settings from 200 to 8200:

 

 

 

On the side of the box we can find some logos and on the back we’ll get the full list of specifications:

 

 

 

 

The top side also opens like a book, only to reveal more information about the mouse, and a clear view of the product itself:

 

 

 

Besides the mouse, inside the box we will also find some leaflets, and an additional set of mouse feet:

 

 

 

One of the leaflets will inform us regarding the warranty details and the other will redirect us to the company website to download the drivers:

 

 

 

The Sentinel Advance II mouse has quite a large footprint and was specifically made for righties; the top contains a small plastic grill with multicolored LEDs along with an OLED display in center:

 

 

 

The back side is curved in such a way to permit a comfortable use and a palm grip:

 

 

 

On the left side we have two programmable buttons and a specially modeled design for the thumb; the buttons are rubberized for a nice feel and the TX button can be used for expanding the functionality of the other buttons:

 

 

 

The right side is, however, plain, with no extra buttons and adds support to the pinky finger:

 

 

 

Near the scroll wheel, the mouse also comes with three other programmable buttons, two behind the wheel and one in front:

 

 

 

On the bottom side of the mouse we will find the sensor lens along with a sticker which holds the product serial number and a small compartment:

 

 

 

By removing the plastic cover of the small compartment, we will reveal 5 4.5G weights sitting in a kind of sponge material. Their removal is quite easy, but we do not get a small container to deposit the unused ones:

 

 

 

 

 

The front side of the mouse also houses an additional set of lights:

 

 

 

The mouse comes with a fully braided cable for additional durability:

 

 

 

The USB connector is also gold plated for achieving a better contact:

 

 

 

Without any software installed, we have seen that the mouse was set on 3200DPI on both axes, the top LEDs and frontal ones were lighting red:

 

 

 

 

With the help of the supplied software, we can modify the top lighting system:

 

 

 

 

 

Separately, we can also modify the colors of the frontal LEDs:

 

 

 

 

 

The central OLED screen also shows besides the DPI on both axes a small pictogram, which is customizable; with the mouse software, we have uploaded a small Star Wars pictogram:

 

 

 

The latest software from the CM Storm website for the Sentinel Advance II also contains the firmware update utility:

 

 

If inserted, the mouse will be detected automatically, and if needed we only have to point the utility to the firmware file:

 

 

 

The GUI of the Sentinel Advance II application is feature-rich and the options are divided in multiple tabs; the Main Control section will allow us to set different functions for the available buttons, customize the DPI levels for all 4 steps, modify the button response times, double click speed, sensitivity or polling rate:

 

 

 

Besides keyboard keys, we can also choose Windows or Multimedia functions and so on:

 

 

 

The next tab will allow us to set the mouse LED colors, effects along with the OLED logo. The LED effects are Always On, Breathing Mode (light brightens and dims regularly), Rapid Fire (lights turn off on mouse click and resume on button release) or disabled. The logo maximum size is 32x32 pixels and we must upload it in grayscale format:

 

 

 

Next we have the Storm TX tab, where we can customize the functionality of this specific button, which initially is set for a “browser back” action:

 

 

 

The next tab allows us to create new macros; from the same screen we can choose the button to assign the macro to:

 

 

 

 

The software also allows us to create certain scripts:

 

 

 

 

The Library tab will allow us to manage the current Macros & Scripts; these can be imported, exported or deleted through here:

 

 

 

The last tab allows us to seek online support and we can also display here the current versions information:

 

 

 

With the Sentinel Advance II, Cooler Master has built a solid product and incorporated a high performance Avago ADNS-9800 Laser Sensor which allows DPI settings between 200 and 8200. Even if the mouse is quite large, the shape is comfortable and we do not need a lot of time to get used to the design. For added customizability, we have the choice of modifying the weight by removing the bottom weights.

 

The software which ships with the product contains a lot of functions and if we do not understand how to operate it, Cooler Master has also uploaded a small instruction manual just for that.

 

The mouse is also equipped with a customizable LED system which can operate with different effects and a top OLED display which shows the current DPI values on both axes and a small logo which we can customize with a 32x32 pictogram of our choice.

 

During testing, we have found that a 1600DPI value is perfect for most 2D desktop activities but for fast-paced FPSs like Counterstrike: Global Offensive, we felt the need of upping the DPI to 3200. The mouse was tested on both cloth (SteelSeries QcK) and aluminum pads (ModMyMachine SlamePad) and we did not encounter any issues with the sensor.

 

The CM Storm Sentinel Advance II is priced fair and can be found online for about 51 Euros.

 

Cooler Master CM Storm Sentinel Advance II Gaming Mouse Recommended For:

 

I would like to thank again to Cooler Master for making this review possible!